The present invention relates to commercial transport and storage containers and in particular to a hard cover and/or attached fabric or hard sidewall assembly that mounts to cover a wooden storage/transport container.
Wooden containers have long existed for storing and transporting all kinds and types of devices and commoditys. The shipping, trucking and warehousing industries use the containers to safely contain stored contents during shipping and storage. The containers can be constructed to any desired size and shape.
The multi-wall containers are typically constructed of wood with a top, sidewalls and a skid type bottom that accommodates handling with a forklift. For warehousing applications the containers are constructed of plywood in rectangular box shapes, for example, 5 feet wide, 8 feet deep and 7 to 8 feet high. One or more of the sidewalls are typically hinged to permit limited access to add or remove items. Stored contents are placed in the container and the container is stacked in a warehouse facility or located at other available storage space. The rectangular symmetry of the containers facilitates stacking and side-by-side placement.
Occasionally, the containers are moved to locations that aren't inherently weatherproof. In this instance, a sewn vinyl fabric cover is frequently mounted over the container. The cover is typically fitted over the container with the aid of a fork lift or ladder to provide the warehouse worker sufficient height to place the cover over the container and position it to drape over the sidewalls. The fabric cover can include detachable flaps to facilitate mounting and entry to the container at any available hinged walls. The fabric covers typically contain graphics and/or textual information.
Although fabric covers of the foregoing type weatherize the covered container and contents, the fabric covers are subject to relatively short lives due to the typical shipping/warehouse environment. Damage from tearing and abrasion most frequently occurs from the stresses of handling and contact with fork lifts and other containers.
The present invention was developed to provide a load bearing hard cap or cover for a storage container. The cover can be used alone or in combination with improved fabric and/or plastic sidewalls mounted to the cover. The cover is constructed to be accessible to handling from all sides with a forklift and provides a surface that vertically indexes to other containers. The cover can be fitted by itself to a container to substantially weatherize the container from nominal rain, snow and exposure to the elements. The cover can also be adapted to attach to fabric and/or plastic sidewalls having flexible hinged sections to define a complete weatherproof cover assembly.